The Department of Health (DOH) has asked the public to be vigilant against conjunctivitis — commonly called sore eyes — saying that while the disease is most common during the summer, there may still be "sporadic cases" during the rainy season.
DOH National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDPC) head Dr. Luningning Villa said that since conjunctivitis is a viral infection, it could also surface during the cold season.
"Viruses are everywhere, whether (it is the ) summer or cold season," she said. "People have some practices during summer which make it easy for the viruses to spread."
The DOH, however, does not have statistics on sore eyes, since conjunctivitis is not a "reportable" disease. This means that the DOH sentinel hospitals are not required to report the conjunctivitis cases they handle.
A health advisory prepared by the DOH said sore eyes symptoms include redness of the eyes and eyelids and pus-like or thick discharge from the eyes. Symptoms could last for 14 days from the onset of infection.
There is no specific treatment for sore eyes during the acute phase of the disease but, if symptoms persist, an infected individual must see an ophthalmologist, the DOH advisory said.
According to Villa, conjunctivitis spreads quickly during the summer because people who go on outings tend to share towels and sunglasses.
She added that conjunctivitis may still surface during the rainy season on a sporadic basis. "The best thing to do to prevent sore eyes is to wash the hands properly," she said. "We should never touch our eyes with our hands."
Contrary to popular belief, she added, conjunctivitis cannot be contracted by looking at an infected person’s eyes. "You can always look, just don’t touch."
"The key here is personal hygiene," she added. "Wash your hands frequently and properly and don’t share towels."